Stella Adler was born in 1903 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Her parents were the actors Jacob P Adler and Sara Adler. The Adlers, including five children in all, comprised the Adler acting dynasty, which had its start in the Yiddish Theater District and was a significant part of the vibrant ethnic theatrical scene that thrived in New York City from the late 19th century to the 1950s. Stella became the most famous and influential member of her family.
In her autobiography, sister Celia Adler remembers Stella as a child:
"Stella was then about three or four years old. Her shining beautiful little face, her big blue eyes, the waves of golden locks enchanted me."
Stella began her acting career at the age of four in the play "Broken Hearts" at the Grand Street Theatre on the Lower East Side, as a part of her parents' Independent Yiddish Art Company
She managed to finish public school, high school and studied for two years at New York University.
As stated, as a child Stella started to act in her father's theatre troupe, and in the span of her career on the Yiddish stage, she joined the troupes of famous Yiddish actors, such as David Kessler, Sigmund Mogulesko, Bertha Kalish, Keni Lipzin and Jacob Ben-Ami.
Stella Adler was born in 1903 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Her parents were the actors Jacob P Adler and Sara Adler. The Adlers, including five children in all, comprised the Adler acting dynasty, which had its start in the Yiddish Theater District and was a significant part of the vibrant ethnic theatrical scene that thrived in New York City from the late 19th century to the 1950s. Stella became the most famous and influential member of her family.
In her autobiography, sister Celia Adler remembers Stella as a child:
"Stella was then about three or four years old. Her shining beautiful little face, her big blue eyes, the waves of golden locks enchanted me."
Stella began her acting career at the age of four in the play "Broken Hearts" at the Grand Street Theatre on the Lower East Side, as a part of her parents' Independent Yiddish Art Company
She managed to finish public school, high school and studied for two years at New York University.
As stated, as a child Stella started to act in her father's theatre troupe, and in the span of her career on the Yiddish stage, she joined the troupes of famous Yiddish actors, such as David Kessler, Sigmund Mogulesko, Bertha Kalish, Keni Lipzin and Jacob Ben-Ami.
Stella acted in the Yiddish theatre on a frequent basis from 1910 to 1935.
She studied acting in Boleslavsky's dramatic studio in New York.
During the 1926-27 season, Stella acted at the Irving Place Theatre, and during the 1928-29 season, she played at the National Theatre, and in 1929-1930 at the Yiddish Art Theatre.
Stella specialized in being a dramatic actress. She was one of the acting members of the family of Jacob P Adler, who first married Diana Shtettin, who had given birth to daughter Celia. Sometime after their divorce, Jacob married the Yiddish actress Sara Adler, who gave birth to six children, three of whom were Stella, Frances and their brother Luther.
Stella made her English-language debut in "The World We Live in" in 1922, and she acted in a good number of English-language plays on Broadway until the early 1950s.
In 1949 Stella shifted to producing, directing, and teaching, founding the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City.
